“Without you we’re nothing” – Claire Murdoch to Trust Therapists

Claire Murdoch, CNWL Chief Executive told the Trust’s therapists “without you we are nothing” at the Annual Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Conference last Tuesday.

Therapists across the Trust gathered for the conference, which focused on a range of themes including long term conditions, change innovation and new models of self care and personal development. Speakers included Paul Salkovskis, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Applied Science, University of Bath and John Green, CNWL Lead Psychologist.

Claire told the therapists that while progress was being made in the numbers of people receiving treatment for mental health problems, it was “a national scandal that people with mental health problems die 15 to 20 years earlier.”

Challenges and victories

The conference discussed a number of challenges, including the prevalence of long term conditions among people with mental health problems. But Claire also pointed out victories too, and said that every year the services were bringing in 80,000 people into talking therapies.

She highlighted plans for IAPT nationally which will see more people accessing treatments for mental health problems, including:

70,000 more children will access evidence based mental health care interventions

Intensive home treatment will be available in every part of England as an alternative to hospital (Older people)

At least 30,000 more women each year will access evidence based specialist perinatal mental health care

CNWL Talking Therapies highlights

For the third year running the Trust’s Talking Therapies Service and Time to Talk Service have exceeded the ‘entering treatment’ targets, as well as the 50 per cent recovery targets, across all the Trust’s North West London services. And Claire gave a hearty ‘well done’ to all therapists.

CNWL’s Talking Therapies Service and the Time to Talk Service have helped over 23,000 patients to enter treatment over the last year, with 134,000 appointments offered on the phone or face-to-face. Many more patients have received digital therapy with telephone support offering an accessible way of receiving support and advice. Click here to read more about the Trust’s highlights for Talking Therapies.

Ross O’Brien, Service Manager, Take Time to Talk organised the conference.

“We were really pleased to welcome everybody to join together to celebrate our success across CNWL IAPT Services in Brent, Harrow Hillingdon, Kensington and Chelsea, Milton Keynes and Westminster this year. There was a great buzz about the day as the teams gathered together to hear from Claire Murdoch about National IAPT developments and other eminent leaders in the field of psychological therapies including John Green, Paul Salkovskis, Debbie Abrahams and Richard Thwaites.”

IAPT began in 2008 and provides evidence based treatments for people with mental health problems.